A demographic and business model analysis of today’s app developer

App developers are the cornerstone of the multibillion-dollar app market. They supply the creativity and the talent behind the creation of the millions of apps on the market today.

However, because individual and small companies are the prominent players in the app-development field rather than large, multinational organizations, very little is known about this segment of the app market.

App developers are concentrated in North America, Western Europe, and Asia-Pacific. Except for high school hobbyists, they are usually highly educated men in their mid- thirties with several years of app-development experience. Their primary focus is on developing tools and utility apps, with a secondary focus on gaming and social utilities.

While paid apps are more prevalent than ad-based revenue models, many developers view apps as projects rather than products, so they are not highly motivated to monetize their applications. Composed mainly of individuals or very small companies, the developer community remains largely unknown and often underrepresented in the app market. Given these challenges, those organizations and companies that can bring tools, resources, and a collective voice to this group will be an important factor in the evolution of mobile-app development.